THE EDGE OF AWAKE

I've been restless lately.

My mind wanders aimlessly, set adrift amongst the crested waves of a neon ocean, undulating perpetually.

With a moment to breathe, I will try to get some thoughts out there into the world.

one:   pre-infusion is a bust.  using a hard-infusion method with the linea at work yields shots that are overly bright with a diluted finish, with weak crema that breaks within seconds.  an ideal shot would be syrupy and rich, and the shots produced using my pre-infusion technique are without viscosity.  reluctantly, i've re-programmed the linea and halted the pre-infusion experiments.  why do you reckon i got the results i got?  my only guess is that the pressure of that initial burst is cracking the coffee puck inside the filter and allowing the water a path of lesser resistance.  without ample time to infuse with the puck, the shots are essentially under-extracted.  future experimentation will involve tricking the machine into soaking the puck with line-level pressure before extracting the shots fully, if i can ever figure out how to do that.  newer machines such as the slayer and the synesso hydra utilize paddle-groups, allowing for continuous gradation of water pressure from zero to nine bars, making line level water output possible.  i would love to have a day on a synesso, to play around with these infusion concepts.

two:    i've been listening to a couple cool bands lately.  a few worth mentioning are apparat, the xx and bibio.  all three are electronics-tinged projects, and i think all three are foreign.  apparat does this sort of ambient/idm amalgamation with unconventional beat-making under darkly melodic synth textures.  the xx are a british group also utilizing synthesizers, and, interesting, drum machines in their live shows.  yes, one of the band-members plays two mpc 1000s during performance, tapping out beats while the rest of the band plays conventional instruments.  guitar and bass are complemented nicely by sampled drums, and the whole act is stitched together in minimalistic form.  this is a group to chill to, for sure.  think circlesquare/portishead/cranberries all rolled into one.  finally, bibio takes a page straight out of the book boards of canada is still writing.  wobbly guitar loops over trip-hop beats, funky bass riffs and filtered vocals.  it all melds into one creamily woozy dreamscape.  this is great music to drive to, just not late at night.  youll fall asleep and end up wrapped around a tree.  otherwise, its really great stuff.

check out the albums "walls," "the xx," and "ambivalence avenue," by each other the three bands.

three:  practice and performance schedules for the SouthEast Regional Barista Competition have been set.  i will be performing first on day two of the first round of competition.

i go on at 11 am on Saturday, February 20th.  Come and see me perform!!

four:  there is no four.

catch ya later,

dan